Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Windows 8.1: Changes Illustrate Attention to Detail

After spending a bit of time with the Windows 8.1 preview, I've been impressed by some of the "little things". While there are large overhauls to address community feedback, this was expected; what I didn't expect is a series of minor tweaks and fixes to make the OS more user friendly for everyone from the entry level user to the longtime power user.

Modern UI with a wallpaper background, substantially more straightforward PC settings, and Windows Update improvements are all very welcome, but my favorite is demonstrated in this screenshot easy to interpret comparison:

Ctrl + X menu comparison; 8.0 on left, 8.1 on right

This means someone in the Win 8.1 dev team is evaluating power user tools for improvement as well, and I'm very happy to see this sort of improvement. I was initially skeptical, but after seeing these sorts of enhancements I'm definitely looking forward to the final release.

This month has been a bit slow because I'm working on a couple large articles. Stay tuned for some Hadoop and DirectAccess!